Forest Eyes
by Laseri
Summary: On permanent hiatus, unfortunately. In a nutshell, Legolas and Gimli complete their bargain and visit Fangorn Forest, guided by Treebeard. The sequel to Dreams of Stone.
1. Intro

Well, you asked for it...a sequel to the Glittering Caves journey...and guess what? You got one! I'm honoured by all the positive feedback for DoS and I really do appreciate you all, in fact if it wasn't for you guys I wouldn't be writing this so this sequel is entirely your fault!  
  
Disclaimer: In case you haven't noticed, I'm not JRR Tolkien and do not own LotR or any of the characters (alas). The description of Wellinghall is from TTT with a few alterations.

Before I start I'm going to thank those who reviewed chapter seven of TGC, or as it's now called DoS, because I can't really do it anywhere else:  
  
Eregriel Gloswen: Once again, thank you for providing a dose of much-needed motivation. You've made a lonely authoress very happy :). And thanks for the ideas, they really helped. Look out for some of them in later chapters!  
  
kj&cl rules: spectacular—cool!! I'm spectacular!! Thanks cl and friend. : P  
  
A/N: This chapter is like what The Hobbit is to LotR. That is, the proper events start next chapter but this intro one is essential to the plot. It will involve some light humour at Gimli's expense, I know it's breaking a few rules but although I like being unconventional I promise not to do it again. My idea of Gimli has been influenced a bit by the movie version since DoS so if he sounds a bit out-of-context, just bear with me.  
  
The two entered Fangorn Forest this time in the company of Fangorn himself, albeit well behind the Ent's long strides. As they neared the edge of the wood, Gimli hung back obstinately. The dark eaves looked forbidding and unwelcoming when viewed from the clear glow of a bright spring morning. Realising his friend was no longer at his side, Legolas, who was forging eagerly ahead, turned and went back to him.  
  
"The sooner you are inside, the sooner you may leave," he reassured the reluctant Dwarf.  
  
"I will spend a year for each minute that passes in that gloomy fustiness," retorted Gimli.  
  
"If that does not comfort you," said Legolas, "remember you are honouring a bargain. If you refuse to come further than this, you will shame yourself by going back on a promised word. And when you have come through Fangorn," he added, "I grant you will remember this moment as one of childhood foolishness."  
  
Gimli grunted in assent, and continued reluctantly but determinedly forward to the eaves of the Forest. Legolas quickly drew in front once more. Treebeard had paused to allow the two to come nearer, before he led them onwards. When he was but a few yards away, Gimli suddenly slowed. Though he would consent to be led through the Forest, he refused to come any closer to an Ent than felt comfortable to him. The Ent in question, however, looked shrewdly at him without speaking, his eyes growing deep and full of understanding.  
  
Legolas had now reached the edge of the wood and stood waiting, a little impatiently, for Gimli to overcome his distrust. But at that moment, it was only his love for Legolas that made the Dwarf move forward past the dim eaves of Fangorn.  
  
As they entered the forest, Treebeard spoke. "You say you wish to visit the deep places of my realm. Well, _hoom_, I cannot show them all to you—that would take many months, and I daresay you have things to do and homes to return to. I will show you what I can of the wonders that may be found here in the little time we have."  
  
"We are grateful for your hospitality," said Legolas. "We did not expect such a welcome from you. All we see will be greatly appreciated." At the last sentence Gimli opened his mouth to mutter something, but caught Legolas' warning glance and subsided.  
  
"_Hoom_, well, I do not have visitors very often, especially fair folk as eager as you seem," replied Treebeard, somewhat pleased. "We will stay in one of my Ent-houses, _hoom_, Wellinghall I think, for tonight, and in the morning I will take you to see what I can safely show you of the Huorns."  
  
At the name of Wellinghall both companions looked up at Treebeard in wonder and excitement; they had heard of the place through Merry and Pippin and were now eager to see it for themselves.  
  
But at the mention of the Huorns Gimli's eyes opened wide, startled. He stopped short. "Huorns?! The fighting trees that swallowed the orcs in the Deep!" Trees were acceptable, Ents could be with time, but Huorns were something he was not prepared to face.

Treebeard stopped and turned around to face the Dwarf. "Of course. I should think you would be interested to see them, being yourself a warrior." Gimli did not deign to reply, and Treebeard strode on, slowing his pace to account for his smaller guests.

Legolas easily kept the pace, speaking with Treebeard now and then in the elf-tongue while gazing around him in wonder, but Gimli, perhaps partly through lack of motivation, continually lagged behind. When many miles had been travelled and the Ent-house was still nowhere in sight, his head began to sag and he stumbled over irregular roots in his path. Suddenly he stopped and abruptly sat down beneath one of the towering trees.

Legolas, glad of the excuse to halt and look around him properly, slowed and presently called gaily to his friend. "Hurry, Gimli, if you do not wish to lose yourself. There is not far to go now."  
  
Gimli, however, refused to move. He would not go another step, so he said, without some knowledge of how many more must be taken.  
  
Treebeard seemed slightly irritated with the Dwarf's behaviour. Slowly he strode back to him, and, without a word, lifted the protesting Dwarf off the ground and onto his broad, woody shoulders. Gimli soon realised his predicament and quietened down, and the small party proceeded in relative peace.  
  
With the hindrance of Gimli's slow pace removed, they reached the Ent-house well before dusk and came to the two tall evergreen trees standing as silent guards. Though the two had never seen it previously, Legolas and Gimli immediately recognised Wellinghall from a description Pippin and Merry had given them before they left Minas Tirith:  
  
"Beyond the trees is a wide level space, as though the floor of a great hall had been cut in the side of the hill. On either hand the walls slope upwards, until they are fifty feet high or more, and along each wall stands an aisle of trees that also increase in height as you go inwards.

"At the far end the rock-wall is sheer, but at the bottom it has been hollowed back into a shallow bay with an arched roof. A little stream escapes from the springs above and falls down the sheer face of the wall like a fine curtain in front of the arched bay. The water is gathered again into a stone basin in the floor between the trees, and from there it spills and flows away beside the path, out to rejoin the Entwash in its journey through the forest."  
  
Treebeard set Gimli down and the three entered the hall together. The Ent, as was his custom, stood under the sparkling waterfall for a moment before passing in. Once inside he lifted two large stone vessels onto a table in the center of the hall. The back of the cavern, though the sun still shone, had become already lost in shadows.  
  
As Treebeard placed his long, gnarled hands over the two stone jars, they began to glow—one with a clear golden light as of long-forgotten summer mornings; the other with a rich green radiance, as a young leaf filled with the joy of its short life. The small cave became filled with a refreshing blend of the two lights, like soft morning sunrays glancing through trees high above. The trees outside the hall also began to glow joyfully, their every leaf edged with a golden, or resonant copper, or emerald green light.  
  
Watching this transformation taking place, the Elf and Dwarf marvelled at the words of Treebeard. "The wonders that may be found here." How, they wondered, could there be anything in Fangorn's groves more beautiful than this.


	2. Huorns

Hannon le to my wonderful reviewers for keeping my spirits up when I got bogged down in schoolwork and adjectives, and being patient with me when I refused to finish the chapter:

Eregriel Gloswen: Yes, sorry about the awful time management, but I assure you it's not just to torture everyone! Glad you liked the humour, I was a bit unsure about it—but then I like trying new, crazy ideas. As always, thanks so much for the positive feedback!

kjcl rules: Thanks cl, I hardly ever get criticised—constructively or otherwise...but this chapter will be longer, I promise you!

kazbels: Thanks—my thinking exactly! It sounded really interesting but JRR decided watching everybody going home was much more exciting than seeing the results of the "Dynamic Duo's" bet.

Well, you pretty much know what's in this chapter from its title and the spoiler last chappie, if you picked it up. If my Elvish is terribly bad, it's because I couldn't find much that told me how to say what I wanted to say and I had to guess some things. Please tell me if I made a mistake, and if you know a really good translation site it would be much appreciated! So let's get this show on "the Road—going on and on since _The Hobbit!" _;-)

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Legolas woke with a start. He was disoriented for a short moment, before Wellinghall came into focus. Looking to his left, he recognised the huddled form of Gimli still wrapped in slumber. The Dwarf was apt to sleep until woken, however long that might be. Legolas smiled—he knew the sun was already climbing high outside the leafy dimness of Fangorn. He stood and walked out of the alcove, revelling in the knowledge that he had many more days left in the ethereal glow at the floor of the Forest. Watching as the haze became almost imperceptibly brighter, he wondered how far into it he would venture before his time in Middle-earth came to an end.

A movement behind him snapped his head around to find Gimli, bleary-eyed, stumbling out of the alcove.

"It seems a long time since I had a full night's sleep," was his greeting to Legolas. "How an Elf survives on so little, I will never know."

"It seems to have done you some good, at any rate," his friend replied with a smile.

Gimli stretched luxuriously. "It has indeed. I feel I could face ten thousand Orcs with ease!"

"What about ten thousand Huorns?"

Gimli snorted, and turned away in mock offence. They stood together for a while, breathing the faintly scented morning air. In the distance, they heard a faint call—musical, but deeper than any horn; not summoning, or challenging but greeting. A kind of call it was pleasant and refreshing to hear, after many months of marching wherever a call was heard. Presently Treebeard appeared through the trees, striding towards them. He looked refreshed, and quite ready for another day.

"Hm, ha, you are awake I see. I trust you found your sleep refreshing?"

Legolas answered for both of them. "Indeed we did. We are quite ready for a new day."

"Good, good. But before we leave, you must break your fast with me. We have a long journey and a speedy one ahead of us if you wish to return from the grove of the Huorns before the dark covers all." Treebeard led them back into the cavern and filled two bowls with a clear liquid. He set them down and bade the companions drink.

He himself drained his bowl in one large gulp before even Gimli had finished.

"This is the Ent-draught I gave to your young friends the hobbits when they stayed with me. They are still well?"

"Of course," replied Gimli. "And I must say they were in the bloom of health and growth when we found them after their forest visit."

"Good, very good. I am glad to hear they are well." Treebeard put down his bowl and looked at them. "And some exercise never goes amiss in keeping good health. We should start on our journey soon if we wish to return before the dark."

His guests agreed, and soon after they set out. For Legolas, though all about him drew his eyes as a fine crown of gold draws those of a dwarf, the journey was fairly uneventful. Gimli however had a somewhat different experience. He seemed to tire as they neared their destination—though neither companion knew its location—and their kindly host was obliged to bear him once more on his broad shoulders. In this manner they progressed faster than before, and soon arrived in a place where the sun seemed rarely to have shone.

No small plants grew beneath their feet. The ground was damp and had a covering of wet leaves. The atmosphere was cold and clammy, and Legolas felt a sense of watchfulness and, although hesitant, a restless menace. As they moved further into the grove ahead of them the feeling grew stronger on him.

Looking around him, Legolas found himself amazed at the sheer size of the dim trunks around him. They stretched endlessly upwards, simply continuing until almost out of sight, their crowns giant birds straining against their bindings and longing to break free, flying ever upwards across the winds. Defiantly they stretched—but coldly, imperiously, they stood firm. The trees had a majesty that was not to be brushed away; the thought of an axe being laid to their regal boles was unthinkable, and quite intolerable.

Suddenly, Legolas found himself looking at the ground beneath his feet from a greater height. Looking upwards, he found the magnificent trees were smaller than he had thought. He was no longer walking, yet he was somehow moving along, with a regular, swaying motion. His eyes widened as he looked to the side and found himself gazing into the eyes of Gimli, who seemed quite amused.

"All is well! You are merely sitting beside me on the shoulders of our esteemed friend Treebeard, though you seemed not to notice when whisked through the air," explained the Dwarf, relieved of his fear of the imminent Huorns for a moment.

Treebeard slowly twisted his large head around so he could see the newest addition to his burden, and ceased walking momentarily. "Huorns are dangerous creatures. I have no wish to let my two guests run about between their toes! There is a large chance that one or both of you would not be, _hoom_, quite the same after an encounter of that sort."

Gimli gulped silently, and attempted to disguise it as a cough. Legolas glanced at him knowingly. He had been through enough with Gimli to know when he was concealing fear.

After a moment they both noticed the atmosphere had become more stifling, and menacing. It became increasingly harder to look around them as a dark shadow softly enveloped them in its suffocating coils. The bright morning they had woken up to had disappeared like a swallow facing a great hawk.

Strange sounds could now be heard around them; eerie creaking, rustling and faint, phantom groans. The voices of trees, deep as the earth itself, came creeping to meet them, slowly and cautiously but on the edge of condemnation if one false step was made.

Gimli was acutely aware of the territorial anger bubbling beneath the surface of the dark cloak surrounding them. He leaned closer in towards Treebeard, seeking some reassurance of safety. Beside him, Legolas felt his friend move unhappily. He located the Dwarf's hand through the blackness and grasped it firmly.

After some moments he felt another sensation. Too afraid to move or make a sound, Gimli expressed his gratitude in the only way he could. Broad, tough fingers tightened their grip around the Elf's own long, slender hand.

A slow, murmuring sound broke their thoughts. It was deep and strangely melodic, humming and rumbling through all the ages of the forest. Though it appeared unexpectedly, its mysteriousness did not outweigh the feeling of reassurance it brought. Gradually Gimli felt his heartbeat slowing, his mind cleared of its anxiety. He relaxed, focussing on the rolling motion of Treebeard's gait. As his fear ebbed away, he found he was again able to see. The shadow drew back, and the day returned to Fangorn.

Before them was a stranger sight than they had seen in all their journeys; one indeed that few but Ents ever see in their lifetime. Legions upon legions of trees at work, some unimaginable force driving them on. Every particle of their being was in motion, every leaf and twig atremble with a desire for freedom—sudden but still old as the Forest itself.

The sense of disapproval had swiftly gone with the darkness. All feelings of imminent menace had flown on the breeze created by these massive creatures.

Watching from Treebeard's shoulder, Gimli forgot his fear. Perhaps some of Legolas' love of the trees became a part of him that day. He put Dwarvish misgivings behind him as he gazed, filled with awe at these mighty creatures.

A tremor ran through the ground under Treebeard's feet. Legolas caught the echo of it and, not fear, but curiosity began to trickle through the Elf's mind. Another event was imminent, that was for certain, but one he had not perceived beforehand. A hush fell over them, and most of the Huorns before them ceased in their wild dance. Some continued to move, however, swaying to a tune only they, through ageless hearts, could hear. Suddenly all three travellers at once perceived part of the forest in front of them had broken away from the rest, and was in fact closer to them than before. They, for it was a company of many, moved steadily nearer to the little group standing on the outskirts of their territory. They did not seem menacing, or indeed even angry—their purpose was to investigate, to satisfy friendly curiosity. They came ever closer, rolling or gliding through the grass—it was hard to tell by what method they moved.

However, while his companion was pondering this new mystery with fascination, Gimli was not quite so relaxed. At first he too had been awestruck by these living marvels, and all fear had swiftly flown. He had been prepared to watch from a safe distance, as long as his presence was not noticed. When the "trees" began to move in unnatural ways, he felt a droplet of fear creeping back. As he began to perceive the direction they were moving in, the droplet grew to a stream and then a swiftly flowing current.

It would soon have become a torrent, sweeping him away on a panicked tide, if Legolas, through his musings, had not turned to ask his friend what he thought of it all. He had no need—the answer was clearly written in Gimli's dark eyes. All the brightness that had been kindled in the Caves was gone, covered or perhaps replaced by a dull curtain of anxiety. He was watching the Huorns with fear clearly etched on his face, unable to look and unable to tear his eyes away. Legolas tightened once more his grip on Gimli's hand, but the Dwarf remained stiffened and focussed on the approaching terror of the walking trees. After a moment in thought, Legolas began to speak softly to his friend. "_Mellon le pel. Le na beria. Uuma dela._

As the soft words fell like gentle rain into his mind, Gimli relaxed and once again forgot his fear. His heart beat slower and his mind became cleared. He regarded the Huorns in front of him with calm detachment as they stopped barely a few feet away from him. Legolas continued speaking, calming his own excited mind. Together they watched as the curious beings in front of them examined their visitors.

Suddenly Treebeard's face moved towards them, giving them both a start as they had forgotten their position atop his shoulders. He had become aware of Legolas's words and realised the situation could quickly escalate, though there was no longer any danger. Looking at the sky, he realised what had seemed like a few minutes had been hours, and the sun was fast sinking in the West.

"_Hoom_, well, my friends, I hope you have enjoyed our visit," he said.

Both his guests looked startled, and saddened. "Must we leave them now?" said Legolas, speaking for them both.

"Alas, yes," replied the Ent. "We have already lingered too long. The Sun is moving west. If we do not leave soon we shall have to make our way back by starlight, and that," he added with a shrewd glance at Gimli, "will not be to everyone's liking." Gimli did not deign to reply.

Treebeard scrutinised their faces. "There are many places in Fangorn we have yet to see. By leaving here today, you have the chance to uncover some things that many an Ent has never witnessed."

"We will go." It was Gimli who had spoken. With no further speech, Treebeard turned and strode out of the grove. The Huorns looked after them from a safe distance as the small group moved on: to different sights, lands so distant they were other worlds, destinies far removed from the imaginations of the watchers, from behind their cloaks of dusk.

Translation of Legolas' speech:_ Friends encircle you. You are protected. Do not worry._


End file.
